Unmanned aerial vehicles (or UAVs) are being utilized in an ever-increasing number of operations, including but not limited to surveillance, monitoring or delivery applications. Many such aerial vehicles use electrical components such as motors, control surfaces or cameras that are powered by batteries or other direct current (DC) power cells when engaged in flight. For example, a typical UAV may include one or more brushless DC motors that are coupled to propellers for generating forces of lift or thrust on the UAV during operation.
Where batteries are used to generate electric power for DC motors or other components that are provided aboard a UAV, such batteries must, like all batteries, be recharged from time to time. Typically, a battery for powering DC motors or other components aboard a UAV is installed in the UAV in a fully or properly charged condition, and is removed on a periodic or as-needed basis, i.e., when the level of stored electrical energy in the battery is insufficient to complete an upcoming mission, plus an additional margin for safety or contingencies. The battery may then be recharged and reinstalled into the UAV from which the battery was removed, or into another UAV, e.g. a UAV of a similar type or class.
Batteries are typically installed into UAVs using one or more mechanical fasteners that must be manually actuated by a technician. For this reason, batteries having low or insufficient levels of charge are typically removed and replaced while a UAV is grounded. Once a battery has been replaced, the UAV may take off and complete its current mission, or embark upon a new mission.
The operational efficiency of a UAV having one or more battery-powered DC motors and/or other electrical components is enhanced where the UAV may remain in a properly charged state at all times, or where the UAV may be restored to a fully charged or a nearly fully charged state as promptly as possible when a battery requires replacement. Presently, an electrically powered UAV is unable to complete any missions while a battery is being removed or replaced.